Car insurance up 66% - should I complain to the Ombudsman?

M

macfran

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My car comprehensive insurance is with Aviva.
For no apparent reason the renewal premium has shot up from €388.10 to €645.55 a whopping 66% increase.
I rang Aviva and was offered via emails (same day)
1st email a renewal at €643.78
2nd email a renewal at €613.26
3rd email a renewal at €607.90

Subsequently I lodged a formal complaint and yesterday received a letter with a load of waffle telling me;

The calculation of a premium by the underwriters is the result of a complex interaction between many different rating factors to provide you with your gross premium. Some of these factors include the policyholder, and any named drivers, age and driving experience, penalty points, licence type i.e. full or permit, the type of insurance cover needed, payment type, address where the car is kept, the make, model and age of the vehicle, engine size, fuel type and many more. These factors are reviewed and updated regularly based on the Underwriters review of their books, which can result in premiums increasing and decreasing for certain risk segments. Therefore, the gross premium you are offered each year can vary significantly. Every insurance company will have different rates based on their underwriting and claims experience, and they may also have different methods of discounting their policies, therefore you may get vast differences in quotations across the insurance market. Every policy is rated individually based on the specific details of that policy and this means that even within the same insurance company every policy may have a different premium.

Would I be wasting my time lodging a formal complaint to the Ombudsman?

I have since been able to get a quote on similar terms for €447.67

I have currently 2 cars (wife), house & health insurance with Aviva- probably not for much longer!
PS. I have been a car owner for over 40 years with no claims.
 
Hi mac

That is very odd indeed. You should pose as a new customer with the exact same profile and see what quote you get from Aviva. They may be price walking you, but even still, 66% seems huge.

The Ombudsman has no role to play in the pricing of products.

Your solution is to shop around.

Brendan
 
I have experienced this previously when my car went from 14 to 15 years old the price increased substantially. A lot of insurance companies seem to increase the price quite a bit when the car is 10 years old .
 
Introuble83 said:
I have experienced this previously when my car went from 14 to 15 years old the price increased substantially. A lot of insurance companies seem to increase the price quite a bit when the car is 10 years old .
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Anybody have a reason why this is, is a 15 year old Qashqai well maintained with yearly NCT's less safe to drive than a 10 year old one??
 
Its hard to understand whats going on in the insurance market. Just this morning I got 30% off my premium by switching using one of the aggregate websites.

I doubt its worth the energy of a complaint. Just go get the best quote you can now.
 
I find I have to restart as a new customer every year to get the best price - this year the renewal quote was €490 and new customer was €405 - not as big a difference as some years but worth the few minutes of filling forms.
 
Mrs Vimes said:
I find I have to restart as a new customer every year to get the best price - this year the renewal quote was €490 and new customer was €405 - not as big a difference as some years but worth the few minutes of filling forms.
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Unfortunately, unlike in the UK where the FCA outlawed them earlier this year, loyalty penalties/price walking are still legal here so this scenario will be very common. You should also try other insurers when shopping around unless you are tied to your existing one for some reason (e.g. outstanding claim).
 
Brendan,

Took your advice and re-applied to Aviva.
As required on the quote, I stated that I was currently insured with Aviva.
Like for like the quote now is €491.84 - a reduction of €153.71 !!

what underhand games these insurance companies play at
 
Cervelo said:
Anybody have a reason why this is, is a 15 year old Qashqai well maintained with yearly NCT's less safe to drive than a 10 year old one??
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You're probably asking the wrong question - too many variables in the. I think the correct question would be:

Is a 15 year old car less safe to drive than a 10 year old one?
 
macfran said:
As required on the quote, I stated that I was currently insured with Aviva.
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They have an option "other Irish insurer" or similar - try ticking that and see if it makes a difference. Then, if it does, ring them and tell them that you want the new quote. I've done this most years and always got the lower one.

@ClubMan, I try the others too but at a similar price I went with Aviva, partly because my son (hopefully) will start learning this year and they have a good offer, and partly because my husband had a claim with them a few years ago and they were okay to deal with.
 
I rang Liberty to cancel my policy just now. The lady asked me what Zurich were offering and if she could give me a quote. I said sure, and I told her the quote. She said the best they could do was +100 euro on the renewal quote which I had already received from Liberty. Incredulous. I dont have any claims or penalty points. When I explained that that was actually more then the emailed renewal quote I had she said well thats whats on the computer. I just said no thanks.

There are lots of vagarities to it all, seems to depend on who you talk to, when you apply, what method you do it by.

Edit: apologies I put this into the wrong thread, I tried to post a link to it but I cant, it says I dont have permissions... I'll copy it in. Feel free to delete this post. I dont seem to be able to do so.
 
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PMPA, Quinn, Setanta all went bust.

RSA Ireland needed a massive bailout from its parent.

The Irish insurance market is not a pot of gold.
 
The original poster really needs to vote with their feet, assuming they can get an equal, or better quote, elsewhere

- we have to stop letting insurance companies take advantage of us, and the only way to do that, is for us to stop doing business with them. Forget this idea of allowing them match a competitors quote, after they initially tried to shaft you, as they'll only do the and thing again next year.

Once the car insurance is sorted, then go and get quotes for the other products that you've got from Aviva, and where a better deal is found, also move those products to the new provider(s).
 
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time to plan said:
You're probably asking the wrong question - too many variables in the. I think the correct question would be:

Is a 15 year old car less safe to drive than a 10 year old one?
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It's even more a case of do their statistics suggest that a 15 year old car is more likely to be involved in a collision or a more expensive claim than a 10 year old one? Keeping in mind that injuries claims are a bigger factor in their costs than the value of the car.
 
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